Bionic mannequins spy on customers

If you've ever felt like you're being watched by the mannequins in your favourite clothing store, it may not just be a figment of your imagination.

Global fashion brand Benetton is one of the first retailers to install bionic mannequins that spy on shoppers to gather valuable marketing information and protect themselves from thieves, Bloomberg reports.

They look like ordinary displays but the EyeSee, created by Italian manufacturer Almax, uses facial recognition software to log the gender, age and race of customers.

While Benetton won't reveal which stores are using the EyeSee, it is believed the technology is being used in a number of outlets across Europe and the United States.

A camera hidden in one of the mannequin's eyes collects the data in an effort to help retailers structure their marketing approach and store layout by determining the make-up of their customer.

Uché Okonkwo, executive director of consultant Luxe Corp, told Bloomberg the EyeSee is a great step forward in allowing retailers to shape their offering to customer needs.

"Any software that can help profile people while keeping their identities anonymous is fantastic," he said.

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"(It) could really enhance the shopping experience, the product assortment, and help brands better understand their customers."

But some critics feel the spying technology could breach a shopper's privacy.

Christopher Mesnooh, a partner at law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse in Paris, questioned whether a customer had appropriate notice that their details were being recorded.

"If you go on Facebook, before you start the registration process, you can see exactly what information they are going to collect and what they’re going to do with it," he told the Financial Post.

"If you’re walking into a store, where’s the choice?"

In a move that is likely to further upset opponents of the technology, Almax is reportedly working on an enhancement to the EyeSee that would enable it to eavesdrop on the conversations of shoppers as they looked at the clothing the mannequins were displaying.